Method and apparatus for making building units



C. L. NORTON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING UNITS April 24, 1928.

Filed July 15. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 iii-21:111.... H m t a fizz/ e 2020?" 6% arZesZ. A o rZO 71/ April 24, 1928. 1,667,434

, C. L. NORTON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING BUILDING UNITS Filed July 15. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [rm/en Zor C /z czrZesZ. NorZo 77/ W MMMW.

Patented Apr.- 24, 1928.

i UNITED STATES,

CHARLES L. NOBTONZ OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD AND APPARATUS non MAKING BUILDING UNITS,-

Application filed July 15,

This invention relates to a meithodfor preparing columnar building units adapted to be used to form the basis for walls, floors' and roots in many dill'ereiit way'sas dis closedin copending applications of Albert F: Bemis No. 33,173, filed September 12,1925,

- and Nos. 72,673; 72,677 ;.and 72,678, all filed December 2, 1925; a unit of this character being more specifically described in the com pending application of Albert 1 BemisyNo.

107869 filed on even date herewith.

In order to provide tubular units to form the basis for desirable to ali'ord means whereby light ceiuentitious material, may be poured between light substantially concentrically arranged cylinders of fibrous sheet material, such. as

chip board or straw board bound with a'varie y ty of cementitious materials, such as plaster-or 2i) other cenientitious materials which may or" may nObCOIllLalD fibrous or other aggregate or. in some cases by neat cement. Asbestos or other fireproof paper, oi cloth preferably stiffened by a suitable compound or line wire cloth or various combinations of paper, cloth and wire may also be used for the fibrous coverings or tubular shells which form the inner and outer faces of the units. V tious filler to be poured between the tubes may beany one of a wide variety of materials, such as gypsum plaster with or without the addition of wood fiber, asbestos orother aggregate, oxycl loride of magnesium, magnesium OXlClG, or a variety oi hydraulic herein described apparatus has been" dee signed to permit efficient production of units of this type and more especially to provide columnar units 01 this type which are free from structural defects, which .are likely to appear unless special precautions are "taken.

The above and further objects of theina vention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the subjoined descrip-' tion and claims in COIlJLillCtlOll with the ,acfl

coinpanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of part of the improved type of apparatus forming a part of the subject matter of this invention;

Fig. :2 is a side elevation of the improved apparatus; 7 i A a Fig. 3 is a vertical central section with the intermediate part of the apparatus broken away; i i

5 Fig. i is a similar viewof the apparatus showing cenientitious material therein; s

partitions in buildings, it is The cei ienti I cements with or without aggregate; -The' 1926. 'seria noi 122,592.

Fig. ,5 is a horizontal sectional iew of the apparatus 'Wlth the parts thereof swung apart; p Y a Fig. 6 isya section on 6 f Fig. 4; and

of the. completed unit.

e. H mwflfoo lug. IS an elevational View 01a portion in the manuiactureoi building units of the poured between two concentricpaper tubes,

general type describedfabove, such as for ex ainplea tubular member consisting of gypsum care is needed in pouringthe cementitious 9 material between the light paper tubes in order to prevent burst ing of the tubes by the hydrostatic pressure of' the' poured iniar terial and to insure intimate contaetof the entire paper surface with the ceinentitious filler. i i

V For this purpose, it is desir able to provide a form or mold tempora'rilyto support the light paper walls terial is being poured and is having an op.- portunity partially to harden. I have found it desirable to use a suitable metal casing 1 with cylindrically. formed. walls which are 1 split longitudinally to provide the substantially similar halves 3 andil, indicatedfin Fig. l, which may have onepairoi adjoin- 3 ing margins connected by hinges 6 and the" opposite paii'detachably) connected by any suitable latch means, such as the screw threaded clamps 8, whereby the moldinay be readily opened and closed. In order to perinit ready removal of the building unit 'and evenly iormed surlaces thereon, theiinnerg suriace oi the mold iscomparativcly smooth.

. I While the cementitious ma It is furthermoredesirable to provide the 1 .casing 1 with a basejlO ofsubstantial v cir'our lar form. and with .a cross-sectional area somewhat greater than the ,correspondin may be provided an upstanding ring lli adapted tojhave a cross-sectional size sub stantially equivalentto that of the unit which is to be manufactured and to provide a narrow clearancejspace between the mold and the vring 'llj The ring 11 is adapted to hold suitable hydraulic packing 12 thereon,

cross-section.

such as an annularmember of U-s'haped In the manufacture of the units a suitable v dimension oi theocasmg, Upon the base 10*? tubularshell 13 of paper or the like is next provided, this cylinder preferablyv being formed of a single roll of paper with overlapped marginal portions forming a seam which extends for the'full height of-the j unit, the overlappingportions of thepaper; 1

be slightly smaller than the mold when first installed in the unit-making apparatus.

In order to space the cylinders 13 and l t at a uniform distance from each other, or if desired, eccentrically in any predetermined manner suitable spacing means such as small blocks 32, bits of plaster or the like may be interposed at convenient points between the tubes, preferably being secured to one of the tubes before assembly withthe other tube. It desired, thesebloclrs may be located-on the inner tubes before the outer tube is tormedthereabout by adhesively connecting the marginal portions of the paper. Then tubes 13 and 14; are assembled in the casing their lowerends extend down at either side of ring ll with the packing 12 tl'ierebetween, and preferably there is a slight clearance between the casing and the outer tube. The two halves 3 and at of the casing are then swung together and the latches 8 "fastened to form a substantially cylindrical mold as illustrated in Figs. 4: and 6.

in order to support the inner cylinder 13 a suitable mandrel or core 20 is provided. Thisnrandrel preferably is expansible and may comprise a pneumatic rubber tube, preterably oi the approximate texture used for inner' tubes in pneumatic tires for motor cars. It is preferably provided with heads 21' and 22 of wood or the like, which are tightly secured to the rubber by wire windings, An automatic valve 524 similar to a conventional tire valve disposed in the upper end member 21 of the pneumatic mandrel, This valve. 24: is adapted to receive air; from any conventional air line. In order to permit ready insertion and removal of the mandrel from the tube its upper end may be secured to a cable 27 running over pulleys and provided with a suitable counterweight 2801 fastening means. Thus it be easily lowered into the inner paper tube or, shell 13 or raised therefrom. it is to be understood that after the paper cylinders have been assembled in the manner described, the rubber mandrel is located within'the' inner cylinder or shell and is subsequently inflated to support that cylinder in the manner illustrated. The pneumatic mandrel is preferably inflated to a pressure at. which it supports the paper tube to a sulii'cient degree substantially to balance the hydrostatic head at the point of greatest ressure, i. e. at the bottom or" the tube. referably these operations take place while the adhesive. substance, such as glue, connectlng marginal portions of the outer paper new/343a cement will servc'slightly to expand the tube ll until it is in firm abutting relation with the inner wall of the casing 1, while the infiation oil the tube 20 will serve to hold the paper tube against the cementitious material. By this means wrinkles are prevent ed in the paper tubes, and the plaster may be packed. accurately to fill the same throughout their length, and the tubes may be ac curately located in desired relative position concentrically or otherwise.

Since the excess moisture in the poured cementitious material is at once absorbed by the paper, weakened and has a slight tendency to stretch, and therefore accurate and even support by the mandrel and mold is essential. Furtherlnore, unless such support is accurate and uniform, the eementitious material will not pack evenly between diiicrent parts.

of the paper shells and wrinkles or flaws are likely to appear. The rapid absorptionoi then'ioisture by the paper-permits the cemcntitious material to set rapidly and the unit. may be providedwith sufficient rigidity to permit its removal from the mold within a short time, as, for

example, within six; to ten minutes, the mandrel being deflated to facilitate this operation. The unit may thenbe placed on a dry ing' rack :tor several hours to permit, com-v lete hardening oi the filler. Prior or sul sequent totliis drying operation, the depend ing portion of plaster and the extending lower ends of the paper tubes 13 and let may be removed so that the paper and cement tubes present a substantially flush lower; surface.

l/Vlnle I have described the above process .with particular reference to units formed by pour-mg gypsum plaster between paper shells, it is obvious that by this method building units may be made eta wide va riety of materials, such as those enumerated above, in order to possess light weight and considerable strength or rigidity. The bond between the fibrous material, such as paper, and the plaster or cementitious material, will be very intimate, in fact an attempt. toipeel the paper from the plaster will usually result in splitting of the former. Thus the considerable tensile strength of the paper or.

fibrous material and the compressive strength lli of the cementitious filler combine to provide a unit of considerable strength, yet of unusuallylow cost and weight. It is also obvious that the cross-sectional shape, of the unit may be varied as, for example, to make its outer or inner surface elliptical or to arrange the tubes eccentrieally sothat the material of the unit Will be unsymmetrically arranged. Suitable reinforcing means such as syn'nnetrically or unsymmetrically arranged longitudinal strips 30, or combinations of these strips and hoops, or a. cylindrical member of wire netting may be inserted between the paper tubes before the filler is provided to provide a reinforcement for the same, if desired. Such elementsmay conveniently be combined with the spacers 32' in many instances.

I claim: p

1. In the manufacture of articles of the classdescribed, the preparation of a paper tube by pressing overlapping marginal portionsof a paper sheet into yieldable engagement, the placing of the tube in a casing having a slightly larger cross-sectional area included between the surfaces of its inner walls than that between the adjoining surfaces of the outer walls of the tube, and the pouring of cementitious material into the tube, thus causing the latter to expand to conform to the shape of the inner surface and size defined bythe casing.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 further characterized in that an'inner tube is positioned within the first-described tube and the c-ementitious material is subsequently poured between the tubes.

3. In the manufacture of articles of the class described, the preparation of a paper tube by pressing over-lapping marginal portions of a flexible sheet into unstable, adhesive engagement, the location of the tube in a casing of larger diameter than that of the tube, the locating of a yieldable core in the casing, the pouring of cementitious material'between the tube and core, whereby" the pressure of the poured material may cause relative movement between overlapping portions of the paper tube, permitting the cementitious material and the adhesive to harden Within the tube in its expanded form, and subsequently removing the core from the tube. V

4. In the manufacture of articles of the class described, the preparation of substantially cylindrical tubes of flexible fibrous material with different diameters, the larger of said tubes being slightly expansible, placing one tube within the other, locating the tubes in a casing slightly larger in inner cross section than theouter tube, placinga yieldable j mandrel in the inner tube and pouring cementitious material in the space between the tubes, whereby the outer tube is adapted to be expanded by the pressure of the material to conform tothe shape of the casing and whereby the inner tube is adapted to be yieldably held by the mandrel against the pressure of the poured material. I

5. The subject matter of claim 4t further j characterized by the locating of spacing elements between the tubes when they are as-- remains in a semi-soft state wherebyil'elw tive movement between the overlapping marginal portions of the shell may take place and it may expand and conform somewhat to the shape imposed by the pressure ofthe poured materiah 7. A method of manufacturing columnar building unitscomprising the cutting of a.

long piece of yieldable fibrous material, coating one of the longitudinal margins of the same with adhesive, overlapping the longitudinal margins and pressing them into adhesive engagement whereby a tubular shell is formed, preparing another similar-tubular shell of a smaller diameter, locating one. of the, shells-within the other and placing the shells within a supporting casing having an inner diameter somewhat greater than the outer diameter of the outer shell and pouring cementitious material in the space between the shells while the adhesive inthe outer shell remains in a semi-soft state whereby relative movement between the overlapping marginal portionsof the shell may take place and it may expand and conform somewhatto the shape imposedby the pressure of the poured material and defined by thefjinternal shape of the casing.

V Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts, this 14 day of July, 1926.

' CHARLES L. NORTON. 

